The Best of Surf Short Film, Reelers 2017

The Best of Surf Short Film, Reelers 2017

Reelers is a short film competition for everything surf and surf related. Brought to you by Surfing World, the competition features films under 3 minutes in the categories of Story, Action, and Youth. Cash and swag prizes are up for grabs for each of the categories and is judged by surf cinematographer greats; Taylor Steele, Kai Neville and Jack McCoy. Entries can also be selected for audience choice awards via votes on the competition website.

There are some great submissions in the competition so far, so we decided to sit down and highlight our favorite selections for each category. Here are our top picks (and a couple honorable mentions) of the competition so far:

Category: Youth

Submitted by Alex Corcoran, a man of few words who describes his film, Up North, as: “A short made for Reelers 2017. This was made from a trip to Lennox Head ‘ UP NORTH ‘. I am 14” Well 14 year old Alex Corcoran we really liked everything about this film but overall it made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside and captures perfectly what it’s like to have a great day out in the surf with your friend and mellow fun waves. Well done Alex Corcoran, well done.

Category: Story

This short is submitted by Gold Coast videographer Dru Adler. Titled The Uplifting, it tells the story of how the recent earthquake in New Zealand has changed the surf landscape in and around Adler’s wife’s home town of Kaikoura. We liked this entry in the Story category as it highlights the silver lining of what was an otherwise destructive and tragic event, and that this silver lining is bringing new opportunity and stoke to a generation of young surfers. High five, Dru, for seeing the glass as half full!

Category: Action

Surfing Private Island is a short film shot in the Mentawais about a group of local surfers having a ton of fun. We liked this entry because it just made us want to go out and surf. Ok, we always want to surf, everyone can relate, but you know what we mean, it was feel good, the waves looked perfect, warm, and fun and it captured everything positive about surfing.

Honorable mentions:

Standards Suck is a short film following Jaleesa Vincent. Filmed and submitted by Olivia Williams the two have ton of fun with the project and it radiates sunshine and good times.

A short film by 17 year old Tai Jennison Rupiah For Shade features four of the best young surfers in the world; Rio Waida, Caleb Tancred, Griffin Colapinto and Ethan Ewing. These dudes are young and they rip.

Submissions for Reelers 2017 can be made until February 1st, 2017, so it’s not too late to submit if you’re a budding surf cinematographer. And don’t forget to vote for your favorite entry for the audience choice awards.